Dog Ownership and Regular Walking

Shane G. Brown ; Ryan Rhodes , AB Activer, 13(2) June 2006

Target Group: Dog owners and community members

Program Name: N/A

Location: Capital Regional District , British Columbia

Study Objective:

The purpose of this study was to go beyond previous studies by

• exploring dog ownership and walking in an urban setting where the dog was a household pet (as opposed to a working or guard dog);
• ensuring that the person filling out the questionnaire was the primary provider for the dog; and
• examining potential psychological mediators between dog ownership and physical activity.

The authors wanted to find out whether the sense of responsibility or obligation for the health and well being of the dog was what drove the relationship between physical activity and dog ownership.

Study Design: Questionnaire

Intervention or Program:

• A random sample of men (n = 177) and women (n = 174) between 20 and 80 years old participated in a mailed survey in the Capital Regional District of British Columbia (total response rate = 36%).
• Questionnaires collected information about demographics, dog ownership, leisure-time walking, physical activity levels (using the Godin Leisure-Time Questionnaire, Godin & Shephard, 1985), and walking motivation.
  

Impact on Physical Activity:

• After accounting for socio-demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, income), the authors found that dog owners spent more time in mild and moderate physical activities and walked on average 300 minutes per week.
• In contrast, non-dog owners walked on average 168 minutes per week.
• Moreover, obligation to the dog explained an additional 11% variance in walking behaviour (after controlling for walking-related intentions, perceived control, social norms, and attitudes).
• An earlier analysis in Baron and Kenny (1986) had suggested that a feeling of obligation to the dog motivated the physical activity of walking the dog .

Implications for Practitioners

• Relevant in families where a child/youth takes primary ownership and care for the dog. Care for pets should be encouraged among children/youth, especially with respect to exercising the pet.

Author's Email: Ryan Rhodes Rhodes@uvic.ca